Once a gamer, always a gamer

The N00b’s Cheat Sheet to Counter-Strike: Global Offensive

One of the more popular genres of video games out there is the competitive team-based shooter, and in that arena the Counter-Strike franchise is arguably one of the kings. This long running series places you with a small team of either terrorists or counter-terrorists and pits you against the opposing fashion in rapid-paced first person combat. Matches are quick and decisive frays as you try to rack up as many kills as possible for your side. In the franchise’s newest installment, Counter-Strike: Global Offensive, the stakes get even higher.

Despite this simple premise, CS:GO serves up a surprising amount of strategy, offering various different character classes, weapons, and other goodies. While all of this makes for an in-depth tactical shooter it can be a little daunting for those new to the genre, especially if you’re more used to a less frantic play style. That’s why I’ve put together the following tips to help CS:GO noobs learn to fight with the best of them, or you could just purchase CS:GO boosting services from these guys.

One of the less obvious tactical blunders that a lot of new players make is the tendency to reload as much as possible. This is especially prevalent in players who usually play single-player shooters where the mechanics are typically balanced to encourage reloading any time there’s a break in the action. The problem is that in CS:GO the reload times are deliberately long (usually several seconds) in order to give the mechanic more strategic weight. This could leave you vulnerable at a critical moment – just because nobody is shooting at you RIGHT NOW doesn’t mean a hostile player isn’t about to come around a corner and cap you while you’re mid-reload. Reloading also makes a very distinctive sound, alerting every player in the area to your presence. Keep in mind also that due to the hectic nature of the game most players aren’t going to be running around with full hit bars – it’s not usually going to take that much ammo to bring them down.

The next thing you want to consider is not relying on grenades. In your mind you might expect a well placed grenade to do devastating damage in a large radius, but the truth is that in CS:GO even a perfectly aimed grenade will only knock out about 50-60 health. They can be a powerful strategic tool in a veteran’s hands, but there’s a subtle art to it. A new player is better served by just sticking with their more accurate and easier-to-use rifle.

Another thing that newer players can be seen doing a lot is crouch-walking. This is another holdover from single-player FPS games where crouch-walking often offers a distinct advantage thanks to the usual accuracy buff and the fact that many AI enemies have trouble comprehending that a crouching target is shorter. In CS:GO, however, you’re not playing against a computer – you’re playing against real people. And while crouch-walking may help you aim it also makes you a lot slower. Imagine a scenario where you’re camping near the corner of a building – you’re able to see a crouch-walker inching his way around from the other side well before he’s in a position to defend himself from your bullets. Keep that scenario in mind the next time you consider slamming that control key!

While those are good in-game tips, I also have a few real-world suggestions to help your game. First is to listen to your teammates! It’s tempting sometimes to ignore the players you get saddled with, especially if they’re generally unpleasant or abrasive towards newcomers. Despite their impatience, though, you can learn a lot from their experience – there’s a lot of not-so-obvious nuances to CS:GO and learning directly from seasoned players is the quickest way to bring your skill up.

You should also check out tutorials and recorded matches on Youtube, Twitch, or anywhere else game footage tends to be hosted. When you’re caught in the heat of battle it’s really hard to keep track and take note of what’s going on, so sometimes it’s much better to try and learn outside of the game where it’s calmer and you can really concentrate.

Even with these suggestions, it’s going to take some time, patience, and practice to get really good at CS:GO. It’s my hope that these tips will at least help you to get started and be a valuable member of your team as you’re building your skill up. Once again, as suggested earlier, you can always take the easy way out by buying a CSGO boost from www.csgo-academy.net.